Reprint from the 

YEAR-BOOK 



OF THE 



GERMAN AMERICAN HISTORICAL 
SOCIETY OF ILLINOIS 



Vol. XII 



A POLITICAL PROPHECY OF THE FORTY- 
EIGHTERS IN AMERICA 




^ 



-ri^ 



A POLITICAL PEOPHECY OF THE FORTY-EIGHTERS 
IN AMERICA 

By Julius Goebel, Jr., University of Illinois 

I. 

Political prophecy is a term which occurs not infrequently 
in the historical literature of Germany, where it has a dis- 
tinct meaning. While, in English, the word prophecy still 
seems to be confined chiefly to the religious sphere where it 
originated, in Germany it is applied also to the highest inter- 
est of a people, namely its national destiny. 

A political prophecy of this kind, I venture to call The 
New Eome, by Charles Goepp and Theodor Poesche, pub- 
lished in 1853, of which this paper is to treat. It was thru 
this book that the American people, as contemporary reviews 
show, for the first time should become aware of the great in- 
fluence which national prophets may exert, not only upon the 
intellectual and moral life of a great nation, but also upon its 
political ideals. 

The question naturally arises here as to what the real na- 
ture of prophecy is, when freed of its biblical connotation. 
Rudolph Hildebrand, the eminent German philologist, in a 
paper entitled Prophezeiungen defines it as follows : 

„@§ gteBt in alien menfcf)Itcf)en 2]crl}dltniffeu, bie aU ©angeS 
in arbeitenber ^etoegung finb, etnen ^unft ober eine Sinie, too 
hie eigentltd^e treibenbe Uraft tool^nt, unb trtfft man in gliicfltcfier 
©tnnbe mtt feinem Xenfen unb Siitilen in biefen ^nnft, jo fann 
man ben nod) nid^t gegebenen gortgang ber 33ett)egung be§ @Qn= 
gen im borauS fel^en, fotoeit ntrf)t aufeere, unberecEienBare (storun= 
gen ifin i^emmen; man ftel^t bie Cinie entlong, bie nod) nidjt ha 
ift unb boc^ in ben 3}er^altniffen jd)on mit gegeBen. ^n biefem 
®tnne luirb benn aucf) nodf) tagltd;) pvop^e^eit, im fleinen it)ie im 
grofeen Seben." ^ 

It is for this reason that we often speak of poets as proph- 
ets. A glance at the history of Germany will show, moreover, 

» Hildebrand, Tagebuchblatter, p. 218. 



that in times of great national disaster or crises there arise 
men who, even more than the poets, fulfill the mission of na- 
tional prophets. At such times of national calamity, men like 
Fichte will step forth and will give solace by looking out be- 
yond the present vicissitudes into the future. Thru four 
hundred years of German history, and even earlier, we meet 
with men of the prophet type proclaiming national unity, 
national regeneration and final world dominion of Germany. 
In the earliest times these prophecies crystalized about the per- 
son of single heroes, such as Frederick Barbarossa. The Ger- 
man people had felt that with his death the glory of the empire 
was past, and certain folk legends grew up concerning the 
mountain Kyffhauser, where he was pictured as sleeping un- 
til the time was ripe for him to return and restore the pristine 
glory of the empire. These local legends gradually spread 
until in the beginning of the fifteenth century they had be- 
come national traditions. The Friedrichsage lived until the 
time of the Franco-Prussian war, and its influence upon 
German leaders not only of the Middle Ages, but also of mod- 
ern times can easily be discerned. 

Another hero in whom the national hopes and aspirations 
of the German people became embodied was Arminius. Again 
and again we find him the subject of German epics and dra- 
mas, the most notable of which was Kleist's Hermanns chlacht. 
It is with the coming of Goethe and Schiller, and still later 
of Fichte, that national prophecy assumes its loftiest char- 
acter in Germany. Goethe's Epimenides and Schiller's Wil- 
helm Tell are proof how these poets who had striven so long 
for the intellectual supremacy of their country also realized 
the full significance of the national political movement. And 
it was by his inspiring Beden an die Deutsche Nation, that 
Fichte aroused his people to shake off the shackles of the 
tyrant Napoleon. 

I have already said that these national prophets promise 
not only national unity and regeneration, but also the forma- 
tion of a new and more powerful world empire. We find that 
prophecies of this sort originate during and after the decline 
of the Holy Roman Empire. They are very significant in that 



they show how deeply rooted was the conception of a great and 
all-embracing world federation. It is known how this phantom 
of an empire, rivalling that of ancient Rome, held the medie- 
val world with an almost uncanny fascination. To this illu- 
sion was due in no small degree the unhappy fate of Ger- 
many for so many centuries. 

A most remarkable prophecy of a future German world 
empire differing from the old Holy Roman Empire appears e. 
g. as early as 1669, in a chapter of the book Der Ahenteuerli- 
clie Simplicissimus, by Christoph von Grimmelshausen.^ In 
this tale, a half-witted fellow who imagines himself to be the 
God Jupiter, gives expression to some very lofty and noble 
ideas. He proposes in his capacity of a god to bring into exist- 
ence a German hero who shall go forth and subdue the evil and 
help the good. England, Sweden, and Denmark, Spain, France, 
and Portugal will all come under the dominion of this hero 
(the incarnation perhaps, of Frederick Barbarossa) and 
through a parliament of the wise men of these countries he 
will ameliorate the conditions of the poor by abolishing all 
taxes. Absolute equality and freedom of religion will char- 
acterize his kingdom. Such in brief is the outline of the 
world empire of the half-witted fool. 

During the eighteenth century which marks the lowest ebb 
of national patriotism in German political history, we find 
the idea of a future political empire almost forgotten. In 
its stead arise the conceptions of German intellectual supre- 
macy and of a cosmopolitanism independent of state. It is 
very interesting to note that, while this latter conception takes 
a firm hold upon continental Europe ; in England it is of prac- 
tically no influence.^ 

Strange as it may seem, it is in France where the idea of 
cosmopolitanism first originates and takes a strong hold upon 
the intellectual life. From France the idea spread to Ger- 

* Grimmelshausen, Der Abenteuerliche Simplicissimus (Neudrucke 
deutscher Literaturwerke, v. 26), Bk. Ill, c. 4 & 5, p. 209 et sq. 

^ This is but natural, for in a firmly established state with a pro- 
nounced sense of nationality, such as England, the vague political ideas 
of cosmopolitanism could find little favor. 



many where it was heartily welcomed by that politically dis- 
organized country. The spread of this idea and its influence 
in Europe is easily explained by the fact that French influ- 
ence and culture were dominant in the intellectual world as 
well as in political spheres. With the passing of the eigh- 
teenth century the original conception of cosmopolitanism is 
gradually forgotten, on account of the revolution in France. 
From this time forth until the time of Napoleon Ill's coup 
d'etat in 1852, France comes to be regarded as the leader of 
republicanism, a republicanism, to be sure, which to a certain 
extent, is cosmopolitan in character. France becomes now a 
haven of refuge for the political exiles not only of Ger- 
many, but also of Italy and Poland. The July revolution in 
1830 immediately caused the republicans in Germany and 
Italy to break forth in open rebellion. A similar effect was 
produced by the Revolution of 1848. 

After the quelling of this latter rebellion in Germany, hun- 
dreds of its leaders and their followers, filled with republican 
aspirations and subconscious reminiscences of former prophe- 
cies of a future world dominion, emigrated to France and 
Switzerland, where they seemed to find for a short time the 
realization of their hopes of a republic. 

"With the rise of Napoleon III it soon became evident to 
the refugees that their presence in France and even in Switz- 
erland was not desired. In many cases they were summarily 
ordered to depart.^ The coup d'etat in December, 1851, ab- 
solutely shattered their hopes of a cosmopolitan republic in 
Europe. Although a great many of the exiles turned to 
England, yet the majority, and especially the radicals among 
them, decided to emigrate to the United States, ^hich, in 
their opinion, was the only remaining republic in the world. 
Hopes of making Germany a republic were dashed to the 
ground. It is only in the light of their republican ideas that 
we can rightly judge the seemingly traitorous propaganda 
against Germany carried on by the Radicals in this country 
and as it found expression in The New Rome. To most of 

^ Rattermann, Article on C. Esselen, contained in this volume. 



the forty-eighters the Grerman Nationalstaai: ^ meant a dem- 
ocratic state more or less after the pattern of the French 
republic, and to realize their ideal, they believed themselves 
justified in using every possible means. 

II. 

We have seen in the above, the many and various influen- 
ces which helped to shape the intellectual development and 
the political thinking of the German liberals and how these 
forces culminated in the successive revolutions of 1821, 1830, 
and 1848, when thousands of patriotic men forced into exile, 
sacrificed their homes and their future for the sake of their 
political ideals. Let us now consider the nature of the move- 
ment of the forty-eighters in America, and the men who led it. 

The emigration of the German political refugees to Ameri- 
ca began in the twenties of the nineteenth century, when the 
persecution of the demagogues which followed the Carlsbad 
Decrees drove a number of promising and highly intelligent 
men to this country. The most conspicuous of these men was 
Karl FoUen,^ who later became one of the principal leaders 
of the Abolitionists. On the whole, however, the exodus of 
the political refugees in the twenties was insignificant com- 
pared with the emigration which set in after 1830, following 
the various disturbances and revolutions in Europe of that 
year. Thousands of German citizens came to the United 
States during this period. The majority of them hailed 
from the principalities along the Rhine, such as Nassau and 
Hessen, and many of them settled in the newly opened lands 
of Missouri and western Illinois.^ But the great tide of im- 
migration was still to come. 

It was the Revolution of 1848 that brought literally hun- 
dreds of thousands of immigrants to this country, among 
whom there were men of the highest intellectual and social 
position. In contrast, however, to the immigrants from France, 
Italy and Hungary, who were for the most part aristocrats, the 

^Meinecke, Weltbiirgertum und Nationalstaat, p. 17. 
" Kapp, Aus und tjber Amerika, v. I, p. 309. 
» Ibid. 



German settlers were democratic in character as was the entire 
political movement which had carried them to this country. 

The German is by no means clannish, and whatever recog- 
nition he wins, he may ascribe to individual effort. The forty- 
eighters had an especially difficult task in winning recogni- 
tion in the United States and their troubles were increased by 
the fact that many of their countrymen who had settled in 
America previous to them did not sympathize either with 
their ideals or their political aspirations. Consequently there 
arose between the two groups a great bitterness especially in 
political matters,^ The earlier immigrants immediately dubbed 
the newcomers "Greenhorns," a term which was shortened to 
' ' Greens, ' ' while the latter retorted by calling their opponents 
the "Grays," as expressive of what they believed to be their 
musty and antiquated ideas. 

In order to understand fully the feeling of antagonism 
between these opposing parties, it is necessary to consider 
briefly the doctrines and ideals of the forty-eighters. The 
typical forty-eighter was at the same time a radical and an 
idealist. Unable to carry out his revolutionary propaganda 
in Europe, upon his arrival in America, he transferred his pro- 
gram bodily to this country. America, from the beginning of 
the eighteenth century had been glorified in Germany as the 
land of freedom, and nothing could equal the disappointment 
of the refugee upon finding that this land of the free fostered 
one of the most abominable of human institutions. The fire 
of his wrath he now turned from the European despots to the 
American slave-holder. At the same time he keenly felt the 
necessity of a national regeneration if the American republic 
was to be saved from destruction.^ Thousands of exiles who 
otherwise would have wasted their energies or come to ruin in 
this country became useful and influential citizens by finding 
a field for their activities in the abolition movement.^ 

^ Koerner, Memoirs, v. I, p. 549. 

^ Heinzen, Teutscher Radikalismus in Amerika, Neue Folge, v. 2, 
p. 638, also Kaufmann, Die Deutschen im Amerikanischen Biirgerkriege, 
p. 104. 

* Kapp, Aus und iiber Amerika, v. I, p. 312, 



No better example of this can be found than Karl Heinzen, 
the eminent Boston journalist and political thinker. Heinzen 
had been one of the foremost leaders of the revolutionary 
movement in Germany. Although exiled he had returned from 
New York to take part in the uprising in Baden. After the 
failure of this rebellion he fled again to New York and en- 
tered upon various journalistic ventures, during which he took 
a prominent part in politics. He finally settled in Boston 
and edited Der Pionier, the famous periodical, in which he 
gave utterance to his political program. It is interesting to 
note that this program differs but little from the radical pro- 
gram which he had previously advanced as a leader of the 
revolutionary party in Germany.^ A comparison of these 
two programs may not be out of place as it will aid us in ob- 
taining a better insight into the real nature of the movement. 

Program of the German Program of the Radicals 

Revolutionary Party ^ in the United States ^ 

1. Germany to be an in- 1. Total abolition of the 
divisible union. presidency and of the office 

2. Administration to be by of state governor, and of the 
the people themselves through system of two houses ; and the 
a single chamber of deputies, conversion of the federative 
and a ministry dependent on republic into a republic one 
the majority in the house. and indivisible. 

3. Common and direct 2. Representatives subject 
franchise to all, with excep- to recall by their constituents 
tion of prisoners and inmates at any time.* 

of insane asylums. 

4. Freedom of speech, 
press, teaching and assembly. 

5. Abolition of the stand- 

^ Friedrich Hassaurek had a still more radical and anarchistic pro- 
gram. 

^Heinzen, Teutscher Radikalismus in Amerika, Neue Folge, v. 2, 
p. 638. 

^ I have taken this from Koerner, Memoirs, v. I, p. 566. I have 

amended certain passages where Koerner's English was too unidiomatic. 

^ Compare this with the present recall which we have in several states. 



ing army and the establish- 
ment of a militia system. 

6. Guaranty of jury trial 
in both civil and criminal 
cases. 

7. Administrative appoint- 
ments to be confirmed by the 
chamber of deputies. 

8. Intervention of Ger- 
many in favor of republican 
governments. The establish- 
ment of a congress of peoples 
and of a European tribunal in 
place of the existing diplo- 
matic system.^ 

9. Abolition of feudalism 
and feudal dues.^ 

10. (Deals with the regu- 
lation of taxes). 

11. Ownership of land to 
be regulated by the state. 

12. Those incapable of lab- 
oring shall be assisted, and 
work secured for those who 
are able to work. 

13. Establishment of a 
general public school system. 

14. Establishment of a free 
postal system. 

15. The state shall provide 
for free places of amusement 
and recreation for the people. 

16. Emancipation of 
women. 



3. Abolition of the policy 
of neutrality. The United 
States to intervene against 
intervention as practiced in 
Europe. Instant abolition of 
slavery. 



4. All lands to be free and 
the poor settler to be assisted 
by the state. 

5. No man to own more 
land than the state allows. 



6. In all German schools, 
German teachers to be em- 
ployed. 

7. Establishment of a Ger- 
man university at the expense 
of the government. 



^ Compare this with the present peace movement and the Hague 
Tribunal. 

^ There were still relics of feudalism in Germany at this time in 
the form of tithes, "Frondienst," etc. 



8 



17. Abolition of the penal 8. Abolition of penitentia- 
system and of capital punish- ries. They shall be trans- 
ment. formed into houses of reform. 

18. Absolute freedom of 9. The government shall 
religion. Church property to own all railroads. The rail- 
revert to the state.^ road to the Pacific shall be 

built at the cost of the state. 

10. No official position to 
be allowed persons dependent 
on the Pope. 

In a certain sense, this program of Heinzen's may be 
called prophetic, — and, while at that time it may have seemed 
visionary and even ridiculous,^ nevertheless, many of the 
reforms proposed have since been carried out or are at 
present being advocated by such men as W. J. Bryan and 
Theodore Roosevelt. Heinzen, like many another reformer, 
was some fifty years in advance of his contemporaries. 

It was inevitable that men like Heinzen who had played 
so prominent a role in European politics, should exercise a 
powerful influence upon the political attitude of their coun- 
trymen in America. Yet, in spite of their patriotic activity, 
they were at first not only underestimated as a group, but 
their individual efforts were seldom recognized. Adhering 
too rigidly to their principles and hence despising the com- 
mon American practice of compromise, it was impossible for 
them to be popular with the practical politicians of their 
time.^ In addition to this fact they were convinced that the 
unscrupulousness and corruption of American political life 
was bound to undermine the very foundations of the re- 
public, and they strove against this with might and main. 
Up to this time the German immigration had attached itself 
almost exclusively to the Democratic party,* and even as late 

* I have omitted certain sections which bore no relation whatever to 
the American program of the radicals. 

^ Koerner, Memoirs, v, I, p. 566. 

^ Kapp, Aus und iiber Amerika, v. I, p. 314. 

*Von Hoist, Constitutional and Political History of the United 
States, V. V, p. 159. 



as 1850 it was considered a sort of heresy not to belong to 
it. Nevertheless, the Germans occupied an almost despicable 
position in this party. In fact, they were universally known 
as "voting cattle."^ Nothing but the poorest offices, such as 
remote consulates, or post-offices, were given them, and in 
every respect their relation to the political leaders was that 
of servant to master. Even the German press in this coun- 
try was on the side of the political bosses, and looked up to 
them with a sort of reverential awe. Imagine the effect of 
the merciless criticism, the result of the high ethical stand- 
ards, which Heinzen and Esselen in their journals and pub- 
lications directed against these political conditions and their 
advocates, the unscrupulous and corrupt politicians. Little 
wonder that the reformers met with tremendous opposition 
not only among the older generation of their countrymen but 
also among the American politicians who soon came to feel 
the force of the new ideals. 

American materialism and German idealism were now 
brought into direct and sharp conflict. To be sure, in the 
end, German idealism was to triumph, but the bitterness of 
feeling on the part of the American politicians found its 
expression in the notorious Know Nothing movement, one 
of the most disgraceful chapters in the history of American 
politics. 

The Know Nothing Party, also known as the Nativist and 
as the American Party, made its first appearance in the year 
1854, although it had come into existence some time previous. 
Its first victory was won in Salem, Massachusetts in January, 
1854, when a candidate who had not been publicly nominated 
was elected. Similar occurrences took place in rapid succes- 
sion in other and larger cities. For a long time the origin 
and creed of this conspiracy against the foreigner were un- 
known,^ and the great parties found themselves confronted by 
a secret and mysterious foe which they had to combat. The 

* Kapp, Aus imd iiber Amerika, v. I, p. 317. 

^ Woodburn, Political Parties and Party Problems in the United 
States, p. 84 says that their motto was the words attributed to Wash- 
ington: "Put none but Americans on guard tonight." • 

10 



one clew to the purpose of their activities was that their poli- 
cy was clearly nativistic, anti-Irish in the North especially in 
New York, and anti-German in the South and West. Two 
parts of their program were particularly significant: public 
ofBces should be filled by native Americans only, and naturali- 
zation should be allowed only after four yefirs of residence in 
this country/ The programs of the German radicals were 
seized upon with avidity by the Know Nothings, and, as Von 
Hoist expresses it, were used as heavy artillery in their war- 
fare.^ In December, 1854, Senator Adams of Mississippi, 
brought forward a bill to amend the naturalization laws so that 
naturalization would be granted only after twenty-one years 
residence in this country.^ This bill, although it was never 
passed, indicated that while the movement in the North was 
directed chiefly against the Irish and the Catholics, and to a 
certain extent was inspired by patriotic motives, the nativists 
in the South saw in the Germans an antislavery element too 
dangerous to be tolerated. 

The Know Nothing Party was of short duration, for once 
its secret was out its decline was rapid. Its members in- 
spired fear only as long as they fought invisibly.* A move- 
ment of this sort in the face of the overwhelming number of 
immigrants and citizens of foreign descent was doomed to 
failure. Its champions could not point to a time when this 
country began to be purely American and ceased to be Eu- 
ropean to a certain extent, or when it had ever been anything 
but a republic of immigrants.^ The national victory of the 
Know Nothings might easily have meant the fall of this re- 
public. The direction of the movement against the Germans 
was another evidence, moreover, of the ignorance of its lead- 

^ Von Hoist, Constitutional and Political History of the United 
States, vol. V, p. 81. 

Mbid, p. 188. 

'Congressional Globe, Second Session, Thirty-third Congress, p. 24. 

* Von Hoist, Constitutional and Political History of the United 
States, V. V, p. 187. 

•^Heinzen, Teutscher Radikalismus in Amerika, Neue Folge, v. 1, 
p. 55. 

11 



ers concerning the historical achievements and the cultural 
influence of the German element in this country.^ 

In order to arrive at a just estimate of the movement 
against the Germans of 1848, we must remember also that the 
better classes of Americans had not really learned to know the 
true character of the German refugees. Their knowledge was 
confined to the uneducated type of immigrants and even these 
they did not take the trouble to know thoroughly. Many 
Americans had forgotten the fact that the social and educa- 
tional status of their immigrant forefathers had been no bet- 
ter than that of many poor Germans. That the educated 
German refugees were not known better to the Americans 
was however to a large extent their own fault.^ They had no 
wish to be Americanized, and in their minds their coming to 
this country was nothing but a short sojourn until events had 
shaped themselves for their final return to Germany, It was 
not until the Know Nothing movement had played itself out, 
and the Republican Party had begun to assume a more im- 
portant role in the politics of this country, that the German 
radicals found themselves, so to speak, and for the first time 
began to exert a practical influence in national politics. At 
the convention of the Republican Party in Philadelphia in 
1856 the forty-eighters joined the party en masse,^ and the 
various elements which had, until this time, been passing 
their time in ceaseless bickerings, were at last united in one 
common cause. The election in 1860 found practically the 
whole German population on the side of the Republicans, and 
in the opinion of the leading forty-eighters it was chiefly 
through the efforts of the Germans that the election was final- 
ly decided in favor of the Republican cause.* It is not to be 
supposed that this transition from German revolutionists in 
temporary exile to practical American politicians, was an 

^ The most vicious excrescence of this movement was the so-called 
"rowdies." 

^ Heinzen, Teutscher Radikalismus in Amerika, Neue Folge, v. 
I, p. 159. 

^ Kapp, Aus und liber Amerika, v. I, p. 318. 

* Kapp, Aus und iiber Amerika, v. I, p. 318. 

12 



— ^^*ii •k'r«<r?5Mya!mrmaira»nvT;:^^irQr5W)m«3ft3aaKW£^^ 



easy or a rapid one. It was, perhaps, in 1854, that it first 
began to dawn upon the exiles that they were here to stay 
and must accordingly adjust themselves to the new condi- 
tions. How much it was to their credit, and what supreme 
evidence it was of their moral and intellectual power that they 
were able to win for themselves an independent position, and 
to understand American life as well as they did! But, dur- 
ing these years, German radicalism had been rife, and in 
September, 1852, had reached its height at the Congress of 
Wheeling.^ The New Rome was the written expression of 
the doctrines propounded at this convention. 

The radical elements among the German immigrants set 
themselves to the task of organizing an association of the 
liberally minded element, in order to bring it under one 
head. With this end in view, they held yearly assemblies in 
one or the other of the great cities, to which came delegates 
from all the various radical and progressive organizations.^ 
At these Congresses there was scarcely any reform or theory 
Avhich was not propounded, -and no burning question which 
was not very completely discussed.^ To be sure there was 
much brought forward that was extremely impracticable, but 
many proposals and resolutions uttered here for the first time, 
later found a place on the platform of the great political par- 
ties.* Everyone was allowed to express his ideas freely, and 
no matter how extreme or how fantastic, they Avould all re- 
ceive consideration. Men like Heinzen, Goepp, Hassaurek, 
and Theodor Kaufmann took a prominent part in these con- 
ventions. It was at a meeting in Cleveland, that Heinzen 
gave utterance to his famous statement that the President of 
the United States was nothing less than a king in a dress 
suit.^ 

^ Kapp, Aus und iiber Amerika, v. I, p. 319. Also Kaufmann, Die 
Deutschen im Amerikanischen Biirgerkriege, p. 110. 

- Klauprecht, Deutsche Chronik in cler Geschichte des Oiiio-Thales, 
p. 187. 

* Mueller, Aus den Erinnerungen eines Achtundvierzigers, p, 204. 

'Ibid, p. 205. 

^ Heinzen, Teutscher Radikalismus in Amerika, Neue Folge, v. I, 
p. 307 et sq. 

13 



At one of these assemblies, held in Philadelphia, we have 
the first inkling of a plan such as was later outlined at the 
Wheeling Congress. Professor Gottfried Kinkel, of Ger- 
man revolutionary fame, had been sent to this country by the 
German revolutionary committee in London, for the purpose 
of collecting money from the German-Americans to aid in 
the founding of a republic in Germany. He achieved a cer- 
tain amount of success, which caused the anti-Kinkel faction 
in the revolutionary party to send to this country for a sim- 
ilar purpose, a certain exile from Baden, Amand Gogg by 
name.^ He proposed to revolutionize Germany not so much 
with the aid of funds collected in this country as by the or- 
ganization of immigrant associations who were to accomplish 
the desired result by the intellectual emancipation of the 
masses. In other words he dreamed of an inner rather than 
an outer revolution.^ But, as funds were desirable in any 
case, he founded the German Revolutionary League, in Phil- 
adelphia, immediately upon his arrival in America. The 
chief purpose of this league was, of course, the intellectual 
emancipation of which I have already spoken. An equally 
important consideration was the collection of American gold 
to aid in the dethronement of European tyrants. At the 
meeting in Philadelphia, the following resolution was pre- 
sented : 

' ' That in the opinion of the present congress, every people 
upon throwing off the yoke of its tyrants ought to demand 
admission into the league of states free, that is, into the Amer- 
ican Union; so that these states may become the nucleus of 
the political organization of the human family and the start- 
ing of the World's Republic." ^ 

This resolution was enthusiastically supported by a few of 
the more radical delegates, but the Congress as a whole, al- 
though coinciding with these views, believed that the adop- 
tion of the resolution would be injudicious. In spite of the 
support which Gogg received from many, the majority of 

^ Der Deutsche Pionier, v. VII, p. 118. 

^ Ibid, V. VIII, p. 91. 

^ Poesche and Goepp, The New Rome, p. 99. 

14 



the refugees were opposed to the undertaking, for they clearly 
saw, that to secure help for Grermany from America was im- 
possible.^ In addition to this, it may be added, that Grogg 
had a much less pleasing personality than Kinkel, and that he 
was no such persuasive orator. Financial aid, therefore, did 
not come to him as easily as it had come to Kinkel. It was to 
stimulate interest in this project that another meeting was 
called at Wheeling, Virginia, in September, 1852. 

This assembly met on the sixteenth of the month and was 
attended by some sixteen delegates, representatives of 1,112 
revolutionary societies, chiefly of the northern states. The 
spirit of the Congress of Wheeling may best be illustrated by 
the following extract from the address of Charles Goepp one 
of the chief speakers of the meeting : ^ 

"We demand the extension of American freedom. A free- 
dom which can be victorious without the aid of American 
gold or the sacrifice of American lives. Just as Greece had 
her Trojan war which transformed her from a state of fisher- 
men to a glorious light of civilization, just as the Crusades 
roused western Europe from the darkness of the middle ages, 
so America, thanks to the god of war, will, in all probability, 
have her Iliad, and her Crusades to win for her a place among 
nations as the center of humanity. A war to extend our in- 
stitutions is not a war of conquest; for, in as much as the 
spirit of our government is the principle of self government, 
or rather of non-government, its expansion does not neces- 
sitate the introduction of violence, but rather the abolition of 
the latter. It is the purpose of our government to restore the 
sovereignty of the individual by striking off the shackles 
against which he has striven in vain. 

"The American continent divides the ocean as Italy the 
Mediterranean, and just as ancient Rome overlooked the cir- 
cle of lands which skirted that inland sea, so the United 
States shall overlook the whole of the world. The universal 
empire of the future belongs to them. An empire not of 

^ Heinzen, Teutscher Radikalismus in Amerika, Neue Folge, v. I, 
p. 65. 

''Der Deutsche Pionier, v. VIII, p. 96. 

15 



conquest and of subjugation, not of inheritance, not of in- 
ternational frictions and hatreds, but of fraternity, of equal- 
ity and of freedom. We implore it to fulfill its destiny and 
out of many worlds create a single one. ' ' 

This peaceful and at the same time grandly conceived so- 
lution of the conflict between the old and the new world which 
Goepp proposed, was at first received with astonishment by 
the delegates. Astonishment changed to admiration, and en- 
thusiasm ran high. Goepp 's speech was embodied into a pro- 
nunciamento apprising the American people of the resolu- 
tion of the Wheeling Congress to annex the world, and was 
translated into many languages.^ Meetings were arranged 
for in various cities and the title of Tlie People's League 
of the Old and the New World was adopted and universal 
annexation was decided upon as the program of the league.^ 

At the time of the adoption of this resolution, it was ac- 
cepted more or less humorously by a part of the German pop- 
ulation, particularly the "Grays," whereas the Americans 
regarded it as simply an expression of opinion of several 
cranks.^ With the published appearance of these principles 
in The New Borne, with its scholarly background, the derision 
abated, and men began to see that after all, the idea was not 
as fantastic as it had appeared upon first sight. Nor were 
these ideas by any me&ns new, 'as was generally supposed at 
this time; for they had been given utterance only recently 
by Giuseppe Mazzini, the Italian patriot, in connection with 
his ideas concerning Young Italy, which crystallized about 
the conception of a world republic. Mazzini tells us about 
these ideas in his autobiography as follows : * 

"At that time, (about 1830), even the immature concep- 

^Der Deutsche Pionier, v. VIII, p. 93, also Mueller, Aus den Er- 
innerungen eines Achtundvierzigers, p. 207. 

^ Poesche and Goepp, The New Rome, p. 100. 

^ Kaufmann, Die Deutschen im Amerikanischen Biirgerkriege, p. 105. 

^ Mazzini, Joseph Mazzini, His Life Writings, and Political Prin- 
ciples, (Ed. Garrison) p. 30 et seq. Mazzini was at this time confined 
in the prison at Savona, on account of his close connection with the 
Italian Carbonari. It was here that his first thoughts of Young Italy 
came to him. 



16 



tion (of Young Italy) inspired me with a mighty hope that 
flashed before my spirit like a star. I saw regenerated Italy 
becoming with one bound the missionary of a religion of pro- 
gress and fraternity far greater and vaster than that she 
gave to humanity in the past. 

''The worship of Eome was a part of my being. The 
great Unity, the One Life of the world had twice been elabor- 
ated within her walls. Other peoples, their brief mission ful- 
filled, disappeared forever. To none save her had it been 
given twice to guide and direct the world. There, life was 
eternal, death unknown. There, the Rome of the Republic, 
concluded by the Caesars, had arisen to consign the former 
world to oblivion, and borne her eagles over the known world, 
carrying with them the idea of right, the source of liberty. 
In later days she had again arisen, .... and at once constitu- 
ted herself .... the accepted center of a New Unity, elevat- 
ing the law from earth to heaven, and substituting to the 
idea of right, an idea of duty, a duty common to all men, 
and, therefore, the source of their equality. Why should 
not a New Rome, the Rome of the Italian people, portents of 
whose coming I deemed I saw — arise to create a third and 
still vaster unity; to link together and harmonize earth and 
heaven, right and duty; and utter not to individuals but to 
peoples the great word Association — to make known to free 
men and equals their mission here below." 

Many of the European exiles and the German radicals, 
as, for instance Christian Esselen,^ had come in contact with 
Mazzini in Switzerland and heard his theories. Karl Hein- 
zen met him later in London and became intimately ac- 
quainted with him. It is possible that Theodor Poesche, one 
of the authors of The New Rome, may also have been influ- 
enced by him. At any rate, the German reformers, ready to 
accept a similar program, saw in America a much better cen- 

^ Rattermann, Article on C. Esselen. 



17 



ter for such an activity than was offered by the Rome of 
Mazzini.^ 

III. 

Before proceeding with an analysis of the principles and 
doctrines contained in The New Borne, a few words concern- 
ing the authors may be in place.^ 

Charles Goepp was born September 4, 1827, at Gnadenfeld 
in Silesia, where his father taught in the seminary of the 
Moravians. He received his first schooling at Herrenhut in 
Saxony to which his parents had moved in 1833. In 1834, 
however, they emigrated to the United States, remained for a 
short time in New York, and soon after moved to Bethlehem, 
Pennsylvania, where the elder Goepp was for a long time 
supervisor of the estates of the Moravian church. 

From 1837 on, Charles Goepp attended a private school, 
and in 1841-2 he entered the theological preparatory school 
of the Moravians. In pursuance of his father's wishes, he next 
matriculated in the Moravian Seminary of Niesky in the Lau- 
sitz, but in spite of the excellence of the instruction, the iron 
discipline was irksome, and two years later he returned to 
Pennsylvania. From this time on, he devoted himself to the 
study of Law, in Easton, Pennsylvania, and in the year 1848 
entered actively into national politics, supporting the Free 
Soil candidates. In 1850, he entered into partnership with 
Joseph Minor and opened law offices in Philadelphia, but the 
untimely death of his partner two years later, brought this 
successful venture to a sudden close. 

Goepp took a very live interest in the activities of the 
forty-eighters and was one of the leaders of the radicals at 
the Wheeling Congress. Like the other German reformers 
he joined the Republican Party, and was a zealous adherent 
of Fremont in 1856 and of Lincoln in 1860. After the out- 
break of the Civil War, Goepp entered the field as lieutenant 
of the Easton "Jager," and was later promoted to Captain 

^ It is difficult to say exactly how close were the relations between 
the German refugees and the great Italian patriot. But the evidence of 
the influence of Mazzini's ideals upon these men would lead us to con- 
clude that they were considerable. 

^ For the facts of Goepp's life I am indebted to Koerner, Das Deut- 
sche Element, p. 121 et seq. 



and adjutant of the Ninth Pennsylvania volunteers. After 
three months of service he returned to private life and con- 
tinued his law work in partnership with his brother Max. 
In 1863 he joined Friedrich Kapp in his law offices at New 
York and practiced there until Kapp returned to Germany 
in 1869. After the death of his wife, in 1870, Goepp traveled 
for some time in Europe, and following his return he was 
elected judge of the Marine Court of New York, a position 
which he very ably filled. 

Goepp was in every respect an able and influential man, 
and his knowledge of both German and English placed him in 
a position to know and understand both peoples as few at that 
time were able to know them. His efforts in behalf of the 
forty-eighters were especially commendable. In addition to 
The Neiv Borne Goepp was the author of a work on parlia- 
mentary practice and the translator of numerous German 
works. 

Theodor Poesche,^ the co-author of The Neiv Borne, was 
born in the town of Zoeschen in Saxony, March 23, 1826. His 
father was a teacher and had destined his son for the minis- 
try. Poesche accordingly attended the Gymnasium and later 
the University of Halle. Coming under the influence of the 
distinguished Professor Arnold Ruge, he was interested in 
the political movements of the time and actually became the 
leader of the one day revolt in Halle which was nipped in the 
bud by the arrival of the regular cavalry. Poesche was forced 
to flee to South Germany whence he emigrated to England, 
his presence having been discovered. In England, he joined 
for a time the colony of revolutionists in London where his 
friend Ruge was and where he doubtlessly met the celebrated 
Mazzini. 

In 1852 Poesche sailed for New York and after several un- 
successful attempts to secure employment, obtained a posi- 
tion as teacher in a Philadelphia school. It was here that he 
met his future wife, the daughter of the celebrated revolu- 

^I am indebted to Mr. Paul J. Pelz of Washington, D. C. for these 
facts of Poesche's life. Mr. Pelz worked up the biography from Poesche's 
papers. On account of its intrinsic value I have appended it to the pres- 
ent article. 



19 



tionist Eduard Pelz. He was married in 1854, and four years 
later moved to St. Louis to become the Head Master of a pri- 
vate school there. 

The outbreak of the Civil War necessitated the dissolution 
of the school and Poesche returned to Philadelphia. Shortly 
afterwards he was appointed statistician in the newly or- 
ganized Internal Revenue Bureau, which office he filled with 
distinction until the Democratic administration of Cleveland 
brought his activity in this department to a close. So great 
and distinguished was Poesche 's service in this Bureau, that 
on the special request of the German ambassador, he was sent 
by the government to Germany to confer with Prince Bis- 
marck on statistical matters. Later Poesche was appointed 
statistician on the Census Bureau. Poesche died on Decem- 
ber 27, 1899. His great life work was a study of the Aryans, 
entitled, Die Arier, which appeared 1878. 

During the years of the revolution and the great immigra- 
tion to America, Goepp followed developments in Europe 
with great eagerness, especially Heinzen's agitation in Ger- 
many, and the efforts of the Hungarians to obtain their lib- 
erty. The revolutionary movements in Europe inspired him 
with the idea of making America the center, so to speak, of 
new revolutions and not alone an asylum for exiles. There 
should be a republic of peoples, and America was to be the 
hub of the universe. He set forth these views in a little pam- 
phlet, E Pluribus TJnum, and later expressed the same doc- 
trines at the Wheeling Congress in 1852, as we have already 
seen. At the Congress of Philadelphia, he became acquainted 
with Poesche and with his book Das Neue Bom. This work 
had been written in 1850, but, unfortunately, the manuscript 
had fallen into the hands of the German police and could not 
be published. 

Shortly after the Congress of Philadelphia, Poesche and 
Goepp decided to combine their books into one, and early in 
November, 1852, the work was completed. The first draft of 
the book was written by Poesche in German. It was then 
translated into English by Goepp. The first part of the book, 
which deals with the political phases of the question, was 

20 



largely the work of Poesehe, whereas the second division, on 
social organization, was chiefly the result of Goepp's thought. 

The New Borne opens with several pertinent arguments 
as to just why America should be regarded as the center of a 
world republic, equalling, and at the same time surpassing 
the ancient empire of Rome. The fact that the United States 
is in a position to own the whole continent and has command 
of two oceans, gives her an immense advantage over any other 
country. According to our two authors, the first step which 
the United States must take toward the acquisition of a world 
dominion are to be the annexation of Cuba and Haiti. These 
island states, at all times turbulent, were constantly requir- 
ing intervention on the part of the United States, and the 
unsuccessful revolution in Cuba in 1851, led by Lopez,^ the 
sole purpose of which was to annex Cuba to the United 
States, seemed to strengthen the general desire that Cuba 
should be a part of this country. For all practical purposes 
the prophecy of the two Germans in regard to this island has 
been verified. 

The proposal of our authors of annexing Canada does 
not seem at all strange to us who are familiar with the much 
quoted statement of Speaker Champ Clark. Even at that 
time reciprocity parties were at work in Canada. The United 
States at that time refused reciprocity, and Mr. Mackenzie, 
the Canadian statesman, explained this refusal by the fact 
that our government desired annexation.^ 

The easy victory of the United States over Mexico, and 
the acquisition of California, seemed to point the way to fur- 
ther territorial expansion in Central America. Then, as now, 
the population of these countries was of a low order of civi- 
lization and extremely illiterate, but in contrast to present 
conditions the inhabitants were at that time anxious for 
American government, and even offered the control of the gov- 
ernment to General Winfield Scott, as he himself tells us in a 
speech made at Sandusky.^ As the two authors express it, a 

^Koerner, Memoirs, v. I, p. 568. 

^ Poesehe and Goepp, The New Rome, p, 13, footnote. 

« Ibid, p. 18. 

21 



mere pronunciamento would have effected the union which, 
they predict, it will take another war to accomplish. The 
annexation of the Isthmus, of Hawaii and the settlement of 
the valley of the Amazon, complete the program to which the 
United States were to apply themselves in the opinion of our 
authors. Two of these projects have recently been carried 
out, while the third still remains to be accomplished. 

While this external expansion is going on the authors pre- 
dict no less an increase within the United States itself. At 
that time the immigration was as numerous as it was excellent 
in quality, and the growth of the native population, was equal- 
ly great. Poesche and Gfoepp could not foresee, however, the 
effect of the civil war upon our population; nor could they 
anticipate the adjustment of affairs in Germany and France, 
which cut off our immigration from these sources, the checks 
upon the Chinese immigration and, lastly, race-suicide, all of 
which have since been instrumental in hindering the rapid 
growth of the nation. 

The Neiv Borne points out,^ that the chief problems of 
this predicted rapid growth of the United States will be the 
formation of a national character. This character will be de- 
termined by the character of the immigration to this coun- 
try. The preponderance of the steadier and better educated 
Germans will in a large measure be decisive ; the Romanic in- 
fluence, exerting itself almost exclusively in matters of taste, 
cannot wield the power of the Teutonic element, and, accord- 
ingly, must remain passive. The Slavonic element is con- 
sidered of lesser importance in the development of our na- 
tional character. 

In the problem presented by the amalgamation of the var- 
ious races the negro loomed up at that time as the most alarm- 
ing element. It must be remembered, that the negroes were 
then still enslaved, but The New Borne predicts their emanci- 
pation in the near future.^ This does, of course, not mean the 
final solution of the problem, and the authors cannot be said 
to have found a particularly good one. Neither transporta- 

* Poesche and Goepp, The New Rome, p. 56. 
' Ibid, p. 57. 

22 



tion, nor extermination are considered by them worthy of con- 
sideration. The crossing of black females with white males 
is suggested by them as the best solution of the problem, for, 
by this process, the black females are improved without taint 
to the white race. The scheme is, of course, entirely imprac- 
ticable, for it does not provide for the black males. Never- 
theless, however absurd or impossible it may seem, to this day 
no better solution to the question has been proposed, and it 
still confronts us, though for obvious reasons with far less 
actual force than in the ante bellum days. 

The authors next raise the question whether the people 
will be satisfied with simply uniting the various peoples on 
one continent, and whether the unity of all the races will not 
"call for a unity of the state." ^ "Will not the emigrants," 
they ask, "who have found under these institutions the goal 
of their hopes, which they vainly sought at home, determine to 
extend the shadow of these institutions so as to enable them to 
return to the lands of their birth and re-establish their social 
and industrial connections there without resigning the poli- 
tical advantages once secured? "Will not their former com- 
patriots determine to share these privileges, without paying 
for them the price of expatriation?" In the opinion of the 
authors political freedom and national wealth go hand in 
hand. Where there is power in the few the many cannot but 
suffer. Wealth is the offspring of trade. All that is neces- 
sary is to make political sovereigns of the European serfs, and 
the result will be that our trade with them will be as active 
as that among the Americans is. But if the welfare (i. e. the 
acquisition of wealth) of Americans and Europeans is the 
standard of right and justice, then it is the right of both or 
either to demand perfect freedom of mutual trade. Freedom 
of trade requires free government. "The people will never 
stop short of a mutual guaranty of republican governments, 
but republican government is only the insurance of the sov- 
ereignty of the individual, and that is the root and core of the 
American institutions of 1776 and 1787. The American Un- 
ion must infederate into its political pale all the countries 

»Ibid, p. 59. 

23 



with which it is brought into social contact. The American 
Constitution is the political expression of the present phase of 
human development; it must be coexistent and coextensive 
with that which it expresses. ' ' ^ 

The authors are fully aware that their proposition of 
having the United States "infederate" the countries with 
which they trade "is as yet everywhere received with hor- 
ror or with derision." Strangely enough they believe that 
the objection to their Utopian plan proceeds chiefly from what 
they consider a mistaken idea of nationality, which they call 
"a remnant of Europeanism which is yet imbedded in the 
American mind." Nothing will show better the fallacy of 
the philosophy of cosmopolitanism and its lack of historical 
appreciation than the method by which the authors proceed to 
' ' eradicate ' ' the conception of nationality. 

Man 's impulse, they argue, is always fight, his afterthought 
friendship. Hence the beginnings of human intercourse con- 
sisted in fighting. The individual skirmishes continued un- 
til some particularly stalwart rowdy, by the terror of his 
prowess induced two or three others to combine against him. 
This was the origin of tribes which, of course, fought among 
each other as the individuals did. From the chiefs of the 
tribes arose the kings. The latter soon required a capital, a 
stronghold for themselves and a gathering place for their 
immediate followers. Together with cities language devol- 
oped. For "not until men began to build cities, had their 
contrivances for the exchange of thought attained that degree 
of uniformity Vv^hicli entitled them to the name of language." ^ 

Community of language is the well-spring of nationality. 
"The patriotism of nationality is found to arise in every 
instance, exactly when a fixed and matured language becomes 
the medium and the element of a fixed nationality. In the 
middle ages we have none of it. The empire of Charlemagne 
knew nothing of France, Germany, Italy, or Spain; the dis- 
tinctions were then only between 'Christendom and Heathen- 
ess.' " 

^ Poesche and Goepp, The New Rome, p. 62. 

^ Poesche and Goepp, The New Rome, p. 64 et sq. 

24 



" In so far as the growth of nations, ' ' they continue, ' ' was 
the growth of an understanding between people of the same 
tongue to unite for mutual defence and assistance, it was an 
advance in the motions of humanity. But, just as isolated 
individuals gradually became aware of each other's existence, 
so these fictitious individuals, the nations, were necessarily 
brought into contact with each other. The result in both cases 
was the same. They fought until they learned to talk to- 
gether. ' ' ^ 

America, however, in the opinion of our authors, occu- 
pies a distinctly different position. Nations, they tell us, are 
unions based upon community of speech. This the Americans 
have renounced in favor of a union based on a unity of 
thought. "Thus," they assert, "fell nationality and arose 
the republic. The native Americans partly have been forced 
to doff the European part of their title; and they have done 
wisely. It is the duty of the American party to combat all 
European traditions which are incompatible with American- 
ism; above all, that of nationality. To vindicate individual- 
ism against nationality, is the office of America. That is, at 
the same time, the whole force and scope of the revolution; 
thus, the revolution which arose in and with America, must 
for ever return to it ; and America, which began in revolution, 
must live in it and end with it. When the dominion of na- 
tionality is crushed, and the sovereignty of the individual is 
attained, everywhere and everyhow, the missions of revolu- 
tions and of America will both be accoDiplished. ' ' ^ 

"Our 'form of government,' " they continue, "miscalled 
from a fallacious use of European terms, is a system of non- 
government, of the absence of all dictation; and the imposi- 
tion of non-government is a contradiction in terms. We do 
not propose to force the Cubans to expell their Captain- 
General, but to prevent the Captain-General from forcing the 
Cubans to retain him. We do not compel the Japanese to 
trade with us, but the Japanese government to abstain from 
preventing the intercourse of the Japanese with us, if they 

^ Ibid, p. 67 et sq. 
== Ibid, p. 71. 

25 



think proper to open it. We go behind nationalities to find 
the people. This is the head and front of our offending ; this 
is what will give to the American Revolution the empire of 
the world. ' ' ^ 

The arguments here advanced show how little the authors 
knew about the historical origin of language and its intimate 
relation with the make-up of national character. Their dream 
of a new Rome seems to have carried with it the illusion of a 
uniform language, such as Latin was during the time of the 
Roman Empire and the early middle ages; but they forget 
that the despotic attempt of imposing a uniform language, 
uniform laws and customs upon the various conquered na- 
tionalities was one of the chief causes which brought about 
the fall of the Roman Empire. "A republic of thought" in 
which neither nationality nor community of speech, the very 
essence of nationality, have a place, is a philosophical abstrac- 
tion born from the systems of Hegel and Feuerbach, of 
which our authors seem to have had a taste. The extreme in- 
dividualism which the authors preach as constituting the his- 
torical mission of America, is certainly a form of non-gov- 
ernment, which, strange to say, is at present again being ad- 
vocated by certain lawless elements or "interests" in our 
country. 

England, with her immense possessions is presented by 
Poesehe and Goepp as the first power to be annexed under 
their plan of a world republic. The English at that time 
had no intention of permanently keeping their colonies. Aus- 
tralia, in particular, appeared as a ready object of annexa- 
tion in view of the fact that its population was at that time 
preponderatingly American. This period of American su- 
premacy on the island has long since ceased and the proposal 
of Poesehe and Goepp would today be impossible. 

England herself, it is pointed out is diminishing in power 
and the United States are rapidly superceding her. Two facts, 
the very serious decrease in the British population, and the 
bad financial condition of that country, call for reform, and 
the only effective remedy which our authors see is annexa- 

^Ibid, p. 74. 

26 



tion. India and Africa are to be included, and tliey are to 
be won over through the aid of the American traders and 
consuls. American influence was strong in these countries as 
well as in Australia, and as it was before the union of Great 
Britain with India, Poesehe and Goepp.saw an opportunity 
for American intervention which was not unjustifiable.^ 

Next to England, Germany appears to our authors as the 
most important country for the Americans. The social and 
political turmoil of that country called for some immediate 
remedy. The hope of another revolution had already passed, 
in as much as the leaders and all the prominent agitators had 
been exiled. The German immigration and the revolutionary 
leaders in London were all desirous of seeing intervention 
by the United States, but intervention alone did not satisfy 
Poesehe and Goepp. Annexation was to them the sole pana- 
cea, for only in annexation to the United States did they see a 
positive guarantee of republicanism. The other Teutonic 
countries, Holland, Switzerland and Scandinavia are to be an- 
nexed at the same time. 

Russia and the whole of the Slav nationality appear to 
our authors as the great rivals of the United States in their 
project. This empire, corrupt, and decayed to the very core, 
is held together by the Czar, in whom both the religious and 
the monarchical elements are combined. The United States, 
by its activities in the Pacific, is already attacking them in 
the rear, and the process of Germanization thru which Rus- 
sia is passing will prove a great aid toward its final annexa- 
tion ; but the greatest struggle of all time will take place be- 
tween these two competing nations, in which the United 
States is expected to issue victorious. 

Strangely enough, the significance of the control of the 
Mongolian races is not appreciated by the authors, yet, the 
present trend of events would indicate that the key to the 
control of the Pacific rests with these peoples. Conditions 
in China are pointed out as favorable for a proposal of annex- 
ation and republican government. At present, the Chinese 

^ Poesehe and Goepp, The New Rome, p. 94. 

27 



have attained the latter, but the former proposal they would 
never tolerate. 

The absorption of the Romanic races by the United States 
of the World is also deemed inevitable. These races have 
long held the suzerainty of Europe, and France, in 1852, ap- 
peared as the most powerful obstacle in the way of the world 
republic, with the sole exception of Russia. Time and again 
Germanic victory has settled the question between Teutonic 
and Romanic supremacy, and thus it will be in this ease ; the 
Angio-Germanic World Empire will overwhelm the Gallic rule. 

Having finally disposed of the question of annexation, the 
authors proceed to discuss the social organization of the new 
state, and trace existing tendencies in their historic develop- 
ment. Poesche and Goepp see in the American tariff system 
the greatest danger to the expansion of the state not only 
externally, but also internally.^ To them it is at once un- 
American, in denying "vivifying capacity to business," and 
at the same time is a restraint upon the freedom of the in- 
dividual and what seemed worst of all to them, a preservative 
of nationality. As long as distribution remains normally 
active, the tariff is successful, but no sooner do we have over- 
production, a natural phenomenon under this system, than 
there follows panic. This, our authors assert, will continue 
until there is a settlement between capital and labor.^ On 
the whole, these financial crises have proved to be invigorat- 
ing to business, and have invariably been followed by an im- 
proved system of intercourse which in turn serves to pre- 
vent panics. 

There follow here a series of very remarkable prophecies 
which have either been fulfilled or are on the point of so be- 
ing. Universal steam navigation, complete telegraph and 
cable systems which will unite the countries and thus do 
away with nationality, are predicted. On the heels of such 
complete intercourse will follow free trade, and after unfet- 
tered commerce, will come universal annexation. Such an 
event will necessitate better means of communication, and 

* Poesche and Goepp, The New Rome, p. 134. 
" Ibid, p. 139. 



28 



the conquest of the air seems to offer the best solution to this 
problem ' How this idea must have been scoffed at m the 
fifties, we can well imagine, but today we have men like Zeppe- 
lin and Wright who are bringing it to fulfillment. 

Poesche and Goepp, like the rest of the German reformers, 
had a goodly streak of modern socialism in their intellectual 
makeup, and they give evidence of it in several doctrines 
which they propose. They very earnestly advocate the aboli- 
tion of feudal tenure, which they contend is the existing 
system in this country, and the substitution of pure allodial 
tenure - Patent rights are to be abolished as being un-dem- 
eratic, as is imprisonment for debt and the whole system of 
collecting debts. This latter reform was achieved long ago, 
but the surrender of patent rights by the American would 
scarcely be seriously considered by the typical American. 

Thruout the entire discussion runs the thought that com- 
mercial intercourse is to be the great equalizer and pathfinder 
for annexation, and by means of it the World Republic will 
be made possible. The moral obstacles to the scheme of 
Poesche and Goepp will give way before improved means of 
intercourse, and the last political obstacles will be removed 
when the political preponderance of capital over labor is 
abrogated and the sovereignty of the individual is consum- 
mated.^ 

IV. 
Sixty years have elapsed since the doctrines of The New 
Borne were first advanced at the Congress of Wheeling, and 
it is only by means of the perspective thus gained that we can 
come to a true conclusion concerning the real value of the 
schemes so ingeniously propounded. How little the opinions 
of contemporaries are to be esteemed in political prophecies 
we have already seen from the case of the program of Karl 
Heinzen, whose proposals were condemned by the politicians 
of his day as wild and impossible of realization, but whose 

^ Ibid, p. 141 et sq. 
^^Ibid, p. 160 et sq. 
• Ibid, p. 171. 

29 



projected reforms are now almost universally being adopted. 
Thus, in judging the value of The New Borne, we must take 
into consideration not only the influence which it may have 
exerted at the time, but also the extent to which its prophe- 
cies have been verified. 

It is indeed difficult to ascertain the meaning of this work 
for the Germans of this country. Suffice it that, although the 
"Grays" saluted it with a considerable amount of scorn, the 
forty-eighters, impregnated as they were with the same gen- 
eral thoughts of the book, saw mirrored in it the expression of 
their own political ideals. 

As far as the realization of the prophecies of the two Ger- 
mans is concerned, we' find ourselves face to face with what is 
apparently an interesting paradox. We have on the one hand 
many of the details of the prophecies of Poesche and Goepp 
fulfilled, but we find on the other hand that the real underlying 
principle of the book, and the very principle which gives the 
work an exceptional value, has been overlooked in this coun- 
try for over half a century. At the same time, however, we 
notice that it is at present being adopted by the chief re- 
formers of English imperialism, the leaders of the home 
rule movement in the Great Britain. For it is they who advo- 
cate the principle of an empire which is at the same time a 
democracy. And it is this concept, and not merely the gen- 
eral imperialistic idea of The New Borne, which distinguishes 
the program of Poesche and Goepp from the so-called ' ' Anglo- 
Saxon Imperialism," which is, in the last analysis, simply an 
organized system of exploitation of conquered territory. This 
has been the fundamental policy of the colonial expansion 
not only of Great Britain, but also of the United States. Let 
us briefly examine the essential features of this policy. 

The English imperialistic idea, as we know it now, was 
first expressed by Carlyle, in the year 1843, when he advanced 
the doctrine that a more civilized and a more powerful nation 
has the right to oppress a weaker people, and that if the in- 
habitants of a country are unable to secure food and work, it 
is the duty of the fatherland to obtain such for them, even 



by force, in other parts of the earth.^ But, as he points out 
in Chartism, such a proceeding must be beneficial not only 
to the conquerors, but also to the conquered, if it is to be 
permanent.^ The problem of overpopulation is to be solved 
by a well regulated immigration. He also dreams of making 
London the center of his future commonwealth, just as My- 
cale was the center of the Ionic movement in ancient Greece. 

This doctrine of Carlyle 's was for a long time disregarded, 
economic questions at that time occupying the British peo- 
ple almost exclusively. Indeed the prosperity of a colony 
was then considered as a sign of its approaching independ- 
ence, and no effort was made to retain such prosperous col- 
onies.^ During this period Canada was very active in work- 
ing for its independence. With the rise of Lord Beacons- 
field, however, English colonial politics began to assume an 
entirely different aspect. An imperial tariff, a military law, 
and a representative assembly in the capital were parts of the 
program which he endeavored to carry thru. In spite of the 
fact that his policy was clearly opposed to colonial freedom, 
he was greatly honored in the colonies, and for the first time 
the British imperial policy was placed on a firm basis. See- 
ley, who, in 1883, wrote on the expansion of England, was 
especially in favor of the assembly of representatives, for, 
as he said, the history of England is no longer the history of 
Parliament in "Westminster, but is the history of the whole 
empire, and a system must be established to hold together the 
loose ends of the vast dominion. The future of England does 
not depend on India, according to him, but on the union of 
the English speaking colonies.* 

The policy of Rhodes, the great imperialist, is too well 
known to require much discussion ; suffice it to say that under 
his guidance, England reached the height of her imperial 
development. English influence was extended in South Africa, 
and the Boer war of 1900, which finally settled the question 

*Die Grenzboten, vol. LVIII, p. 16. 
== Carlyle, Chartism, p. 332. 
« Die Grenzboten, vol. LVIII, p. 18. 
*Die Grenzboten, vol. LA^II, p. 22. 



31 



of British hegemony in this region may be considered the 
direct consequence of his policies. The English imperial 
policy, is, as I have said before, in the last analysis, a policy 
of ruling and exploiting conquered territory. The exponents 
of this form of imperialism have, of course, surrounded it 
with a certain mystic and almost religious halo, to serve as a 
cloak for certain questionable practices under this policy; 
and the average Englishman, like the Hebrew prophet of 
old, believes the English race to be the chosen of God to pro- 
pagate the gospel of "freedom, justice and peace" by means 
of its imperial policy. As one writer expresses it, "There 
is but one rule, and Cecil Rhodes is its prophet. ' ' ^ 

England has always looked with alarm upon the colonial 
growth of other nations, and the territorial expansion of the 
United States in 1898 caused the English the gravest con- 
cern. It is not our intention here to enter into a lengthy 
discussion of the American imperialistic policy, but simply 
to indicate the present tendencies. After the close of the 
Spanish-American war, the American nation found itself for 
the first time facing the problem of whether they should con- 
tinue their former policies or discard them and adopt the 
principles so successfully carried out by Great Britain. The 
latter course was chosen, and then arose the new and difficult 
problem as to what was to be the status of these newly ac- 
quired lands. It scarcely seemed feasible to put these coun- 
tries inhabited by a heterogeneous population of natives and 
Spaniards on the same political footing as the states or even 
the territories of the union, and it was inevitable that the 
United States should finally break away from the principles 
of political equality which had ruled its policies for over a 
century. The result was as anticipated. In the first case 
which came up before the Supreme Court, which was the final 
arbiter of the question, that of De Lima v. Bidwell,^ it was 
ruled that upon the cession of Porto Rico to the United 
States, the island became a part of the United States, and that 
no duties could be levied until there was legislation to that 

» Ibid, p. 198. 
="182 U. S. 1; 1901. 

32 



effect. The next case, of Downes v. Bidwell ^ the court held 
that Congress could impose discriminating duties upon Porto 
Rico as it was not a part of the United States within the 
meaning of the revenue clauses of the constitution of the 
United States. The newly acquired territories were not to 
be considered as territories in the generally accepted sense, 
but as conquered territory in the possession of the United 
States themselves. 

Thus we find that the United States have adopted the 
Anglo-Saxon imperialistic policy of exploitation and the 
splendid future of a world republic extending its blessings 
to all nations, which Poesche and Goepp had dreamed for this 
country seems more remote and Utopian than ever. As we 
have already seen, the two forty-eighters had conceived an 
empire of sovereign states, with a general congress such as 
actually exists in the United States. But in no wise did their 
political program even hint at a policy such as the Anglo- 
Saxon principle of exploitation. The rulings of the Su- 
preme Court seem to have precluded the possibility of our 
nation ever assuming the role which Poesche and Goepp had 
hoped it was destined for, lest the people should, after all, 
realize their error and provide legislation which will turn our 
future development in the right direction. 

How long it will be before the American people do this, 
it is difficult to say. Certain reformers in Great Britian, on 
the other hand, have gradually been formulating, during the 
last decade, a program in many ways not dissimilar to that of 
Poesche and Goepp. The keynote of this proposed new 
policy is the formation of a parliament for the English speak- 
ing peoples of the empire. It is a noteworthy fact that they 
do not include the huge bulk of subjects who are of other 
nationalities. This policy, already advocated by Gladstone 
and Seeley in the earliest home rule agitations has again been 
forcibly expressed in the recent home rule bill introduced into 
Parliament on April 13, 1912. The English advocates of this 
program see in it the sole salvation of the empire and the one 

*182 U. S. 284; 1901. 

33 



remedy to prevent the gradual disintegration of their vast 
imperium.^ 

In conclusion we may say that The New Borne is not only 
a document of the intense political idealism of the forty- 
eighters, but also the expression of their mistaken philosophy 
of abstract cosmopolitanism. No project was too grand for 
their consideration, or too expansive. But we must not for- 
get that this document was written before Bismarck had 
taught his countrymen the lesson of realism in politics. The 
German, as Poesche and Goepp themselves point out, was, 
at that time, essentially universal in his thoughts and feel- 
ings. Suppressed by tyrannical princelings and cast down by 
the long political disruption of his country, he was obliged 
to satisfy himself by dreaming of Utopias, grand in concep- 
tion, but, unfortunately, difficult of attainment. Nevertheless, 
it is well to remember, that Utopias, both social and political, 
have had a great influence upon the development of human 
affairs. What today may appear to be an ideal picture, im- 
possible of realization, may tomorrow be an actual fact. The 
New Rome is such a Utopia, and the last of its kind. It 
marks a turning point in the history of the forty-eighters 
who soon afterward broke away from their dreams of a world 
republic and entered upon a new period of practical activity 
in this country. For, in spite of the mistaken idealism in 
which The New Borne was written, and in spite of the mis- 
taken conception of nationality, which we may name as the 
fundamental fallacy of the work, the lofty principle to which 
The New Borne gives utterance, namely that of a democratic 
imperium, will live as an ideal toward which we must unceas- 
ingly strive. To be sure, it is the application of this princi- 
ple to smaller and more restricted spheres which will give 

* The New Rome is not only to be considered as a forerunner of 
present day imperialism, but also in many respects as a prophecy of the 
peace movement which is at present interesting to many of the leaders 
in political and intellectual life. The union of the world within one 
harmonious federation, and the abolition of national distinction according 
to The Neio Rome was calculated to do away with international bicker- 
ings, and to abolish war by abolishing its cause. Moreover, the federa- 
tion of the world was not to be effected by blood and iron, but solely by 
peaceful methods. 

34 



this ideal of Poesche and Goepp 's a lasting value. The United 
States by adopting this principle in its territorial expansion 
may thereby avoid the error of Great Britain. If present 
day tendencies are any indication, it would seem that imper- 
ial democracy will succeed the essentially vicious principles 
of Roman Imperialism, and the hopes of Poesche and Goepp 
may at some future day to a certain extent still be realized. 

Appendix 
Theodor Poesche von Paul J. Pelz 

St^eobor ^oef(f)e tDurbe om 23. Wdv^ 1826 in 3oef<^en 6ei 

Wev\ebuvQ, probing ©ncfifen, qB ditefter ®olf)n be§ bortigen 
S)orff(f)uImetfter§ geBoren. ©r 16efu(f)te haS' ®\:)mna\mm 3U ^cITe 
unb fpdter bie Itniberfitat bafelBft. 

@r tear bom SSater gur 3:;i^eoIogte Beftimmt unb Begann Qud) 
ba§ ©tubtum berfelben, fattelte jebod^ Bolb gitr ^l^ilofo^rite um. 
®r lernte bort ^rofeffor Strnolb Stuge fennen, ber grofeen ©tn= 
flufe auf fetne geifttge ©nttotcfelitng l^atte; eBenfo tuav @. ST. 
SBT§Iicertu§ fein g^reunb. 

Hnter folcfien ©influfjen toav e§ fetn SBimber bofe ber en= 
ti^uftaftifdie junge S^iann ftcf) mtt aller ©nergte unb l^ofier 93e= 
geifterung ber 1848er |)oIttij(f)en ^etoegung qI§ fel^r tdtiger 3(nf= 
njtegler unh Setter onfdilofe. ©r l^rafibierte unb rebete Bei i3f= 
fentlidien SSoIfSberjommlungen, birigierte bie SWaffen, bk fid) in 
ber :poIttifd)en 93eJDegung jammelten, unb ber 23 jaEirige ©ntl^u= 
ftaft tnor l^dl^renb be§ etnen 3:;Qge§ ber ^QEt|(i)en Siebolution ge= 
JuifeltdE) ber ^au|3tfiif)rer ber 93en)egung. ©urd) baS @rf(f)einen 
ber regularen ^QbaEerie iuurbe jebocf) ber eintdgtgen 9tet)oIutton 
Balb bie ©|3t|e aBgeBrod^en, unb ^oejd^e fnnb e§ bod) bortetll^aft 
om SlBenb gu berf(f)b3tnben. 

®r Juonberte nad^ @iibbeutf(f)Ianb unb unterl^ielt etne ^or* 
ref^onbens mtt fetner g-onttlte burc^ etne 33ertoanbte in einer 
onberen ©tabt, fo ba'B fetn SSerfted unBefannt BlieB. StB ber 
Soben in <subbeutf(f)Ianb tl^m aud^ su I^etfe iDurbe, entf(f)Iofe er 
fid^ nod) ©nglanb gu gelfien, unb fanb bort Bet Slrnolb 9iuge in 
Sonbon, luof)in btefer gefliic^tet tvax, etne borlauftge ^etmat. 
©nglonb luar bomalS giemlid^ boH bon fliid)ttgen Stditunbbiersi' 
gem unb bie SSeretntgten ©taaten fdEiie^en Beffer geetgnet eine 

35 



Sufunft gu griinben, na^bem jebe ^offnung berfrfiiBunben tear, 
ba% in 2)eut|(f)Ianb Balb etne fretere Suft ioeEien iriirbe. 2fitfeer= 
bem tDor ^oefrf)e in ^reufeen ongeflagt unb gu fe(f)§5ef)n ^al^ren 
©efangniS „in contuntQciam" berurteilt niorben. 

2lrnoIb 9luge Blieb in ©nglanb unb tool^nte f-pater in $l3rigl^= 
ton. 

^oefdie fegelte im ^al^re 1852 naif) dletu 3)orf, unb berfu(i)te 
bort unb in 93ofton eine ©tellung al§ Qei)xex 3u erl^olten, tear 
jebod} nid)t erfolgreirf). 33efjer gelang e§ i^m in ^!)ilabel|3]^ia, 
Jdo er 33efd)aftigung al§ Sefirer in l^b^eren ®(f)ulen fanb. 

@r tourbe I)ier mit bem 6eritJ)mten ^onioo|Datl£)en S)r. ©on* 
[tontin ^aering Befonnt unb iDurbe einer ber intimen greunbe 
ber g^amilie. Unter ben bort fid^ berjanrmelnben 93efu(^eren tear 
auc^ ber junge Stbbofat, ®f)arle§ ®oepp, ber ©ol^n be§ Befann= 
ten Setter^ ber ^errenl^uter ©emeinben, S)r. @oe|3^, in Setl^Iel^em, 
^ennft)It)anio. SDie Beiben jungen Seute tourben Balb Befreun^ 
bet, unb oB fie fanben, bofe fie Beibe in 93etreff ber Qu^wnft ber 
SSereinigten 'Btaaten gleid^e Sfnfid^ten Ifiatten, fo Befc^Ioffen fie, ge= 
meinfam il^ren ^been iiber bie Sw^unft biefeS SonbeS burrf) ^uBIi= 
fation eine§ 'i&ud)e§ 2tu§brucf gu geBen unb ha§ 9^efuItot iDar ba§> 
je^t gonglicf) bergriffene The New Rome or The United States 
of the World, New York, G. B. Putnam & Co., 1853. 

®§ mar ami) in ®r. peering? ^ou§, mo ^oefci)e feine i^vau 
guerft traf, bie bort mit il^rem SSater, bem 48er 9teboIutiondr 
unb ®(j^Iefif(f)en 5lBgeorbneten be§ gronffurter ^orlamenteS, 
©buarb ^elg, ber in 9^em i)or! mol^nte, sum 33efu{f) mar. ^ad) 
einem ^af)re murben bie jungen Seute einig unb griinbeten in 
^l^ilabel^l^ia einen ^auSl^alt, bon mo fie im ^al^re 1858 nadf) 
©t. Soui§ liBerfiebelten, mol^in ^oefc^e einen dtu\ at§ SSorftelfier 
einer beutf(f)en ^ribatf(f)ule l^otte. Unter 3Xnberen Befanb fid^ 
I)ier auii) ©eneral Strang ©iegel, ber bamoB aB ^rofeffor fun= 
girte. 2II§ ber ^iirgerfrieg au§Braif), ging bie ©(f)ule unter, 
unb ^oefcfie fam mieber nac^ bem Often unb berfud^te 91em §)or! 
unb ^]^iIabeI|?lf)io, fonb jebocf) in 2Saff)ington in hem neu orga= 
nifierten internal 9tebenue 93ureau be§ ®d^a^amte§ al§ (Bta^ 
tiftifer 33efd3aftigung, in meldfiem Slmte er el^renboE fidf) au^m^' 
nete Bi§ bie bemofratifd^e Sfbminiftration ©lebelanbS feiner Z'd' 

36 



ttgfett em dnbe mad^te. ®^dter l^otte er etne ©teHung al§ 
©tottfttfer tm ©enfu§ bureau inne. 

^oefd^e toor etn inttmer greunb bon ^orl ©c^urg, toeld^er etne 
^o^e Srd^tung fiir il^n fiatte unb fetrte ^alettte unb gal^igfeit gu 
frflQ^en touBte. ^m internal 9iebenite 33ureau ertttoicfelte fid) 
^oefd^e qB ftotifttfc^er ©i-^ert ber Sfrt, ba% (Sraf bon S;!)tetmonn, 
ber beutfd^e ^Botfd^Qfter in 2Baff){ngton, bte 35eretn{gten ©toaten 
offtsieU erfu(f)te, tl^n na(f) 33erltn su fenben urn ha mtt giirft ^t§= 
mard iiBer [tottftifd^e ©etoiB, itber bte ®entf(f)Ianb STuSfunft 
n)unfd^te, ^^erfonltc^ gu fonferteren, toa§ bann quc^ gefd^a^ 
^oefd^eS Bufommenfunft mtt bent grofeen ^ongler tear fiir Betbe 
e:onferenten fel^r Befrtebtgenb, unb ^oefd^e l^atle bte ©fire bon 
SSBmorcf ofter§ in feine 3Bo]^ming eingelaben gu toerben. ®r 
fungirte aud^ Bet ber 33t§ntardEfeier in SBafJ)ington, toeld^e in ber 
©oncorbia ^ird^e bafelBft am 6. 9^obemBer 1898 gefiolten tourbe, 
aB ^rofibent. 

®Q§ grofee Sel6en§rt)erf ^oefdieS tear feine gorfd^ung liBer 
ba§ entftel^en unb 2gad^§tum be§ grofeten aEer afJenfdfienftamme, 
bie STrier unb baffelBe tourbe unter hem Xitel: S)ie Strier, 
ein Seitrag 3ur EiiftorifdCien Stntl^ro^ologie, 
^eno, Hermann ©oftenoBIe, 1878, beroffentlid^t. ©ine 9^ebifio)t 
unb SSeiterfiil^rung be§ SSerfeS Befinbet fid^ in feinem 9^atf)Iafe. 

^oefd^e ftarB nad^ einem mel^ridrjrigen 90?agenleiben in a8af^» 
ington om 27ten SeaemBer 1899. 



37 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




015 826 218 6 



